Blogs

The first of the blockbuster Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports is due to be published next week, and already the debate is hotting up over two key uncertainties: how much temperature rise can we expect, and how much the sea level might increase.

As much of the debate about climate change concerns the future, there are bound to be degrees of uncertainty about the timing, pace and severity of possible impacts. But how should scientists communicate them in a way that policy makers and the general public understand them?

As extreme weather events like wildfires, heat waves, downpours, and droughts continue to make headlines in the United States and around the world, many have wondered what their connection is to climate change. A new report sheds some light, firmly drawing correlations between several extreme weather events in 2012 and human-induced warming.

In a report published yesterday in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS), scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the UK’s Met Office, and other institutions examine the extent to which manmade

Given that the global scientific community know so much of the processes and mechanisms of hazards; and globally there are the resources to prepare and adapt, how is it possible that so many people still suffer unnecessary from hazards?

“The little improvement we gained with hard work over the years was again back to zero because of the flooding” – Celia from the Philippines, a COMPASS 2015 contributor.

COMPASS 2015 perhaps provides an answer why Celia and many millions continue to suffer from preventable disasters every single day.

Global damage from flooding could cost coastal cities as much as US$1 trillion per year — and developing countries will be hardest hit, a study warns.

According to the paper published today in Nature Climate Change, a "risk sensitive planning" strategy is needed to protect coastal cities, which are increasingly at risk because of climate change, subsidence and a growing population.

The researchers looked at the 136 largest coastal cities in the world and found that cities in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to flood losses as they often lack resources for long term planning.